BUSINESS BRIEFS
Honolulu falls in priciest city list
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Honolulu ranked as the 67th most-expensive city in the world, or six places lower than a year earlier, according to the March survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
The survey that helps employers determine pay allowances for expatriate workers ranked Honolulu as the seventh-most expensive U.S. city of the 28 included in the listing.
Honolulu topped all other U.S. cities in a different survey by Mercer earlier this year that looked at quality of living. It ranked Honolulu 27th of 215 cities around the globe. Zurich, Switzerland, was the highest-ranked city; Baghdad the worst.
San Francisco ranked just behind Honolulu at No. 28, while Boston came in at 36 and Washington tied with Chicago at 41.
WORKSHOP FOR CIGARETTE SELLERS
The Hawaii Food Industry Association and the state Department of Health have scheduled a workshop tomorrow to update retailers on the laws relating to the sale of cigarettes.
There will be a special emphasis on training employees "to avoid being caught off guard by sting operations that have been plaguing many retailers," the HFIA said in a news release.
The workshop, scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon in room 132 of the Kalanimoku Building behind Honolulu Hale will be limited to the first 50 retailers that register. For more information, call 533-1292.
$40B SALE FORGES A METALS GIANT
NEW YORK — Phelps Dodge Corp. agreed yesterday to buy Canadian miners Inco Ltd. and Falconbridge Ltd. for about $40 billion, with the three-way combination forging a dominant player in the world nickel and copper markets to be named Phelps Dodge Inco Corp.
The move is a big bet that the current bull market for metals will outlast previous industry cycles. Soaring metals prices propelled sales for the three companies last year to a combined $21 billion.
Record-high prices for copper and strong demand for molybdenum — used to harden steel and as a grinding compound — also provided the cash Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge needed to swing such a huge purchase, which already has the backing of all three companies' boards.
